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Gina Beck
Gina Beck is an English actress and singer known primarily for playing major roles in leading West End theatre productions. She is best known for playing the role of Glinda the Good Witch in Wicked, both in the London production and the 1st US tour. Biography Gina was born on 30 December 1981 and was born in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England, but moved to Hampshire with her parents at an early age. She attended local schools and was introduced to the stage through school and amateur groups. She passed her Grade 8 singing examination at the age of fifteen and gained experience in both solo and ensemble singing as a founder member of the Hampshire Children's Choir and subsequently, the Hampshire County Youth Choir. After A-level exams, Beck successfully auditioned for an acting degree at The Central School of Speech and Drama in London, from where she graduated with a BA in Acting in 2004. After graduation, she had a number of small cameo roles on TV (Doctors, Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking, among others) and commenced a long-standing relationship with Pearson Education doing both voice-over and video recordings for English Language teaching media. Theatre Performances Beck took over the principal role of Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre in September 2008.11 She subsequently performed The Phantom duet with Ramin Karimloo at Andrew Lloyd Webber's 60th birthday concert in Hyde Park, London. In June 2011, she made her debut in the leading role of Maria von Trapp in a new production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music at the 3,000 seat Plenary Hall Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In September 2011 she played Letitia Hardy in Hannah Cowley's restoration comedy The Belle's Stratagem at Southwark Playhouse.This was the first time in over 100 years that this play had been produced in London. ''Wicked'' On the 12th of December 2011, Gina replaced Louise Dearman as Glinda in the West End. She initially starred alongside Rachel Tucker as Elphaba, and then, incidentally, Louise Dearman who she had previously replaced as Glinda. On Monday 1 July 2013, it was announced that Savannah Stevenson will be taking over the role of Glinda from Monday 18 November 2013, ending Gina Beck's two year contract with the show. This was also when her co-star Louise departed from the show. During her stint as Glinda, there were several live performances that Gina participated in alongside Rachel or Louise. These include West End Live 2012 and 2013, where she sang "For Good". Gina then reprised her role of Glinda, this time on the 1st National Tour, alongside Alison Luff as Elphaba. She began performances on December 16, 2013. She left the tour on July 27, 2014, alongside Emma Hunton as Elphaba, and was replaced by Chandra Lee Schwartz. After Wicked Beck has also appeared as an extra/solo singer (turning woman 3) in the 2012 film adaptation of Les Misérables. Gallery Glinda gina beck.jpg|Gina as Glinda Gina.jpg|Gina as Christine Daaé 1097-1857-1622_RT_Gina Beck and Rachel Tucker by Tristram Kenton.jpg|Gina and Rachel in London 2011 maxresdefault.jpg|Gina and Louise at West End Live 2013 Category:Actors from Wicked Category:Glinda Upland Category:Glinda actress Category:Article stubs Category:First national tour Category:Wicked Category:London